Any astronomers in 24?

[virginia.c]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but here goes. I've inherited a Celestron 8 telescope which dates from the mid 70's. It's a pretty sizeable thing and I haven't a clue how to set it up or use it properly. The night skies in rural France are perfect for star gazing so I'm keen to get it going.

Are there any enthusiasts out there who would know how to use one of these??

Any advice/help would be gratefully received.

[Théière]

[quote user="virginia.c"]Wasn't sure where to post this, but here goes. I've inherited a Celestron 8 telescope which dates from the mid 70's. It's a pretty sizeable thing and I haven't a clue how to set it up or use it properly. The night skies in rural France are perfect for star gazing so I'm keen to get it going. Are there any enthusiasts out there who would know how to use one of these?? Any advice/help would be gratefully received.[/quote]

If you have an Iphone or android smart phone, I would suggest downloading a skymap app, google has one too. That saves a lot of time searching the skies for planets and constellations.

Not sure quite what you mean setting up, I assume it's on a tripod, has a counterbalance weight and several magnifying eye pieces to interchange. Turning a handle near the eyepiece will focus the image on the mirror and the other control usually further down near the weight will move the telescope through an arc so you can track across the night sky.

[Pickles]

[quote user="Théière"]Not sure quite what you mean setting up, I assume it's on a tripod, has a counterbalance weight and several magnifying eye pieces to interchange. Turning a handle near the eyepiece will focus the image on the mirror and the other control usually further down near the weight will move the telescope through an arc so you can track across the night sky.

[/quote]

The thing is that there are 2 basic types of mount for a telescope - equatorial and altitude-azimuth, and it makes life a lot easier if they set are up to be polar aligned.

Regards

Pickles

[virginia.c]

Hhhmm. Thanks for the replies and good tip re the app. This telescope sits on a fixed metal base and is electric. I remember it being set to track various planets/constellations etc. The base weighs a ton and the scope is too large for me to risk trying to put it together. There are lots of lenses and other stuff with it. I struggle to lift the trunk which holds it.

I was hoping someone on the forum might have had something similar and might happen to reside up the road!! Rather naive of me I know!

[Théière]

Not electric, mines just a manual one. The weight will be from the er counterbalance weight and tripod most other parts are light weight aluminium. Telescopes of this type are all pretty similar apart from your extra bells and whistles. have a google and see if you can find something similar as a guide.